For millions of South Africans, the Broederbond was an instrument of misery and hardship, but the Afrikanerbond must unify and progress, Ramaphosa told Afrikanerbond members at their centenary celebration on Thursday evening.

Ramaphosa also asked them to back land reform, saying it would be to the benefit of the whole country.

"Rather than seeing it as a threat, running to foreign capitals ringing the alarm bells, see it as an opportunity," he said. "Let us not see the issue of land as a reason to pack up and go."

The Afrikanerbond was previously known as the Broederbond – then a secret society for white, Christian, Afrikaans males who clandestinely controlled the political, economic and cultural levers of apartheid South Africa.

Ramaphosa said the organisation was born out of the suffering Afrikaners endured under the British. As they strove to realise their rights, they had denied those same rights to the majority of South Africans.

"To me, that represents a very big contradiction," Ramaphosa said. "This is a historical reality that we must acknowledge."

'Afrikaners are by name and definition Africans'

Ramaphosa said this year was also the centenary of former president Nelson Mandela and struggle icon Albertina Sisulu, whose lives' work was the antithesis of what the Broederbond had stood for.

"We now have a responsibility to build this South Africa from the ashes of the past," he said.

He said the Broederbond had empowered Afrikaners, and the Afrikanerbond had to now use its "know-how" to the benefit of the whole country.

"As we build an inclusive society, we look to the Afrikanerbond to unleash the economic potential of the entire country.

"The future of the Afrikaner is intrinsically linked to the prosperity of the country as a whole," he said.

"Afrikaners are by name and definition Africans," Ramaphosa said, to some applause.

President #Ramaphosa We do so by returning land that was forcibly taken from African, coloured and Indian South Africans. We do so by securing the rights of labour tenants to the land they have occupied for generations. pic.twitter.com/OU2Rb4Ty1J

Afrikanerbond chairperson Jaco Schoeman said the last apartheid president and former deputy president, FW de Klerk, and IFP leader Mangosuthu Buthelezi had also been invited, but had offered their apologies.

President #Ramaphosa In approaching this issue, we are guided by the Freedom Charter, which said: ‘The land shall be shared among those who work it’. I want to emphasise this point, that the land shall be shared. pic.twitter.com/DTViDI1CTs

When Schoeman introduced Ramaphosa, he referred to his debut State of the Nation address as president, and what has come to be known as the "Thuma Mina (Send Me)" speech, saying the Afrikanerbond also wanted to be "sent along".

He said the Afrikanerbond's motto, "Wees sterk (Be strong)" was very similar to that of the struggle's cry of "Amandla!".

"We are not going to knock on the door of (US president Donald) Trump or (controversial Australian MP Peter) Dutton," Schoeman said.

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